WALKER, MI — The stated intent of Thursday’s Tea Party Express rally at the DeltaPlex Arena was to fire up West Michigan’s conservative base, and state Rep. Dave Agema, R-Grandville, did his part.

After leading 200-some rally attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance, Agema plugged his own proposed legislation proposed to prevent Muslim Shari’a and foreign law from application in Michigan courts and a system aimed at weeding out illegal immigrant workers in the state.

Some statements were punctuated by raucous applause, and others by resounding “nos,” such as Agema’s asking how pleased attendees were with President Barack Obama’s tenure.

“I have a problem, and my issue is this,” said Agema, a veteran Air Force and American Airlines pilot.

“I spent 26 years in the military,” he told the rally. “Everything I was trained to defeat was communism or socialism. I feel like we’re becoming what I used to have to fight against. I don’t like that feeling.”

So began the Grand Rapids-area stop of the Tea Party Express’s “Winning For America” bus tour, a 21-day, 39-city rally aimed at firing up voters ahead of the November presidential and general election.

Attendees began trickling into the DeltaPlex around 4 p.m., and were greeted by a range of political booths, including one for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra and U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township.

Flags bearing the slogan “Don’t Tread on Me” were draped on tables and hung in the arena’s exhibition area. Other signs cautioned attendees: “Don’t trust the liberal media.”

“We think Michigan’s a key state,” said Sal Russo, chief strategist for the Tea Party Express, of why the group chose Walker to stop.

“It’s a key state in the presidential race,” he added. “We think Romney can be competitive here, and it’s, of course, key for the senate race.”

Russo said the “Winning For America” tour is the Tea Party Express’s eighth national bus tour since the group was born of political protests in 2009.

Tea Party groups are credited with the Republican wave that unseated dozens of Democrats in Congress during the 2010 mid-term election, and Russo argued the momentum has not slowed.

Admittedly, though, Russo said the rallies are nowhere near as large as they used to be. The “old timers,” he insisted, now are too busy working campaigns and in the field.

“They’re too busy to do rallies, so it’s new blood that’s coming, and that proves the movement continues to grow despite the smaller crowds,” Russo said.

Despite Agema’s laundry list of grievances with the Obama administration, including the president’s support for gay marriage and the Affordable Care Act, Russo said the Tea Party Express is concerned only with fiscal issues.

The Walker rally, and those across the country, are meant to remind people of the national debt, Russo said. The group also preached a gospel of low taxes and scant federal regulation to spur economic growth.

"You maintain a low tax and a less oppressive regulatory environment and encourage entrepreneurship, encourage that seed cpaital to get invested," Russo said, "because that’s the only way you can provide that ladder of opportunity for everybody."

The rally featured numerous other local political connections with participation by state Rep. Thomas Hooker, R-Byron Center, and members of the Walker Yes! campaign that seeks to eliminate the Rapid bus system taxing authority and transportation operation in the Grand Rapids suburb.

Ben Reisterer, the campaign chair, and member Gena Rinckey blasted proponents of The Rapid for spreading what they called a wealth of misinformation about the proposal.

The Walker Yes! campaign argues that abolishing The Rapid’s taxing authority in Walker would allow voters there to hold elected officials more accountable for tax dollars spent. The group also feels Walker could contract out for transportation services through The Rapid or another service.

Those pitches drew loud applause at Thursday’s rally.

But as for the rally, and whether she was feeling fired up, Rinckey gushed.

“This election is going to be fantastic. I think it’s going to be a hot one

“I think that, you know, over the past four years, most people would truly tell you they’re not better off. I’m not better off.”